The barbecue for lunch wasn’t the spit-roasting type that I had done with Kuro and the others back then, but a variety of foods being grilled on a net or griddle, and each person was free to pick what they wanted.

  The person in charge of cooking was a clone of Alice…… dressed in a shark stuffed costume. I have no idea what the connection is between barbecues and sharks.

  Well, her shark costume aside…… The ingredients are all top-notch, and Alice, who has excellent cooking skills, cooks them to perfection, so it’s hard for me to decide which one to eat.

  While enjoying the barbecue with the paper plates and disposable chopsticks that Alice had prepared, I moved my gaze to the others…… It was interesting to see each person’s individuality based on what we’re eating.

  Sieg-san and Anima seemed to be eating mainly fish and shellfish. From what I heard from Alice before, it seems like fish is considered a moderately expensive commodity in Symphonia’s royal capital, which is far from the sea.

  Sieg-san, who was born in Rigforeshia and now lives in Symphonia’s royal capital, doesn’t have many chances to eat seafood, so they’re enjoying this opportunity to focus on seafood.

  Also, I don’t think I need to mention Anima’s love for fish, so she mainly eats that.

  Isis-san seems to be eating mostly vegetables. It’s not that she doesn’t like meat though, but it seems like if she were to be asked to choose, she’d probably prefer vegetables and fruits.

  In contrast, Alice’s real body is plentifully picking up meat. Well, Alice eats just about everything…… but I can only imagine her as someone who likes meat more than vegetables or fish.

  Lilia-san and Kuro seem to eat a well-balanced distribution of meat, vegetables, fish, and shellfish. They don’t seem to have a particular preference for any particular food.

  Shiro-san doesn’t seem to be picky at all, and just takes whatever enters her line of sight. It’s interesting to see how each person’s personality comes out even with just one meal.

  ……Well, that aside, there is one person at this fun barbecue who doesn’t look well. Yes, I’m talking about Fate-san.

  Fate-san has been glancing at Shiro-san for a while now, seemingly paying a lot of attention to her, never eating food that Shiro-san’s chopsticks haven’t touched once.

  ……I often forget about it, but Shiro-san is actually Fate-san’s absolute superior, and she doesn’t usually have the chance to eat together like this. So, unusually for Fate-san, she was eating, her face looking unusually flustered.

  [……Fate.]

  [Hahh!]

  [Eat as you please. We’re here to relax anyway, so I won’t condemn you for things like this. If you have such a complicated look on your face, you’d just end up watching over your surroundings until we go home.]

  [Uuuuu…… Yes.]

  Fate-san’s nervousness could be clearly seen on her face, and before I could do anything, Shiro-san directly talked to her about it.

  As I thought, the Shiro-san as of late is very aware of the subtleties of emotions around her.

  In response to Shiro-san’s words, Fate-san reached for the food with a somewhat more relaxed expression than before, and seeing this, Shiro-san glanced at me and muttered, as if she was talking to herself.

  [If even one of us gets nervous, it defeats the purpose of this event.]

  [That’s right.]

  [By the way, Kaito-san, ahhn~]

  [Ahh, thanks———- Unnn? Arehh?]

  Meat was presented in front of me with a very natural movement, and I ate it reflexively…… but is there a connection with what we were just talking about with Shiro-san feeding me?

  When I looked at Shiro-san with that thought in mind, she acted as if nothing had happened…… No, she looked slightly happy as she resumed eating.

  H- Hmmm…… It was a bit of a surprise, but well, I guess it’s alright if Shiro-san is having fun……


  [Wait, Kuro-san, that bag you just pulled out looks too familiar…… Please put that away immediately.]

  [Eh? B- But, look, when you talk about barbecues…… Aren’t baby castellas classics here?]

  [Like heck it is! Unless there’s a very unusual situation, there’s no way that barbecues and baby castellas would cross paths with each other!!!]

  Whoa there, it seems like while I was distracted by Shiro-san, a strange situation seemed to have occurred. I mean, just from their exchange, I could already tell what happened…… It seemed that Kuro’s bad illness struck again.

  Speaking of which, I remember the last time we had a barbecue together, I think she also skewered baby castellas and grilled them along with the others.

  [Anyway, as long as I’m in charge, I won’t tolerate such an outrage.]

  [N- No, but you see, Shalltear…… This is a precious opportunity for me to eat “barbecued baby castella”……]

  [Can’t you just freaking notice that it’s strange how you’re trying to barbecue something bakeeeeeeed!?]

  [B- But, you see…… Baby castellas…… hold infinite possibilities……]

  [No, I’m not going to talk about things like possibilities now. Alright, confiscated.]

  [Aaaaahhhhhh, give it baaaaaack!?]

  Today’s Alice is really reliable. How should I say this…… The sense of security she gives off now is different. At least, with her in charge, I could be sure that no bizarre food combinations would appear at our lunch.

  **********